Sports

ND Women's Tennis: Juniors form strong pair

During her time at Notre Dame, junior Britney Sanders has been partnered with several teammates for doubles pairings, but somehow she always seems to come back to fellow junior Julie Sabacinski.

SMC Swimming: Belles finish conference contest

After four months of training and competing, Saint Mary's ended its season with strong individual performances in the marathon-like MIAA championships last Wednesday through Saturday.

Hockey: Great outdoors

It was a big venue, but a bigger game.

Track and Field: Women win third title

The Irish displayed their supremacy among conference competition when they competed at the Big East Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, over the weekend.

ND Women's Basketball: Irish pull away with second-half run

No. 2 Notre Dame led by 19 at the half and never looked back Sunday afternoon as senior guard SkylarDiggins led the Irish to a dominant second half and an 87-49 victory over Marquette at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee.

Steiner: Hard to compare NBA's generations (Feb. 19)

On Sunday, Michael Jordan turned 50 years old. To commemorate his birthday, ESPN and other media sources spent the day and the days leading up to Sunday replaying Jordan's greatest plays and recalling his greatness.

Men's Basketball: Irish offense sputters in loss to Providence

A lethargic Notre Dame squad never led against Providence on Saturday, and the Friars dominated the No. 21 Irish in the second half en route to a 71-54 win at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.

Hefferon: Irish succeed by keeping it simple, returning to basics (Feb. 18)

Walking around Soldier Field with its Greco-Roman columns and retro signs feels like a trip to the past - to a simpler time when stadiums were named after war heroes, not websites.

ND Women's Tennis: Squad drops close matches

Living on the edge finally caught up with the No. 19 Irish, as they lost to Purdue, 4-3, at home on Friday and then dropped their Sunday match at Northwestern, 5-2.

ND Women's Golf: Weaver leads team in first spring tournament

In their season-opening appearance, the Irish finished seventh in the Seminole Match-Up on Sunday at Southwood Golf Course in Tallahassee, Fla. The Irish concluded the tournament with a 54-hole score of 906 (+42).

Men's Lacrosse: Irish open season with win over No. 4 Duke

Junior midfielder Jim Marlatt exploded for a career-high five goals and freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh added four more in his first career game as No. 3 Notre Dame knocked off No. 4 Duke 13-5 on the road in the team's season opener.

Jacobsen: Comic relief in sports best names (Feb. 18)

It's been about a week since pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, and for many baseball fans that means it's time to start researching for their fantasy team draft. But not me - if I wanted to devote the time and effort that it takes to play GM, I'd want to be paid as a professional scout. More importantly, I'd be no good. Forget about talent or value, my drafting strategy would be based purely on how much I enjoy a player's name. That might not be the best plan if you want to win your fantasy league, but if you're a sports writer trying to maintain sanity finding joy in unusual names is sometimes a crucial survival skill. Here are a few of my favorites: Best names to come out of the SEC On their own, Barkevious and Mingo are both stellar names. Together, the defensive end from LSU can pretty much ensure that no name will jump to mind before his at the NFL draft this spring, And even as he embarrassed Notre Dame in the BCS national championship game, there was no way to keep from smiling when sophomore defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was involved in a play.

ND Women's Diving: Divers take top spots in Michigan

The Irish diving team broke out on its own when it competed in the Michigan First Chance Meet at the Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday, earning four top-three finishes in the 1-meter and platform dives.

ND Softball: ND falls to top-ranked Oklahoma in extras

Though they left the Campbell/Cartier Classic with a record of 2-3, the Irish nearly knocked No. 1 Oklahoma from their pedestal in a 7-5 loss that went to extra innings. Prior to their match against the Irish, the Sooners (10-0) had not given up a run in four games at the Classic.

Women's Lacrosse: Team recovers from slow start to best Cardinal

It was not how No. 9 Notre Dame envisioned starting its season.

Baseball: Team sweeps opening doubleheader, drops finale

Notre Dame kicked off its 2013 campaign in Sarasota, Fla., this weekend with back-to-back wins against Florida Gulf Coast and Ohio State on Saturday before suffering a loss to Mercer on Sunday.

Men's Tennis: Irish take down Wolverines

No. 29 Notre Dame saw their momentum swing in the right direction as they came out on top of an exciting 4-3 match against No. 21 Michigan on Saturday in the Eck Tennis Pavilion. 

Green: Professionals, not role models (Feb. 15)

Women's Lacrosse: Halfpenny welcomes familiarity of year two

Robison: Respect LeBron, he's earned it (Feb. 14)

Full disclosure: I'm a LeBron hater. I hate what he did to the city of Cleveland. I hate that he decided to collude with two other superstars to form a basketball machine. My hate dates all the way back to his Cleveland days when he walked up to Gilbert Arenas, who was playing for my hometown Wizards in the playoffs, and interrupted him between free throws by speaking into his ear and patting him on the chest. At that point, any likability LeBron had in my eyes disappeared. That was in 2006.